TV fans rejoice! Striking members of the Writers Guild of America are due to meet this weekend to talk over a proposed settlement with the major studios, which could mean an end to the three-month labor stoppage could be at hand.

The Wall Street Journal says a resolution could come as soon as Monday, although the newspaper also says to bet on a “spirited debate” among the 10,500 members of the guild.

The deal is expected to be similar to that agreed to by the Directors Guild of America, and, if approved, could pave the way for  some sitcoms like “Two and a Half Men” and “Back to You” to air new shows before mid-March, according to Reuters.

Hour-long dramas, however, take longer to bring back, so shows like “House,” “CSI” and ”Grey’s Anatomy” are unlikely to show up until April

A note for those of you desperate to see new episodes of “Desperate Housewives”: You may want to send a gift basket to Laeta Kalogridis, the screenwriter who the New York Times credits as being instrumental in jumpstarting talks between the sides.

“Working the phones and e-mail during her forced hiatus, (Kalogridis) operated as a conduit between David J. Young, a militant leader of the guild, and Peter A. Chernin, the News Corp president, who was similarly protective of company interests,” the Times writes.

But the newspaper also cautions it’s too early to break out the champagne and remote controls.  It reports that ”interviews with more than a dozen people involved in the possible settlement described a process so fragile that many still think that Saturday’s meetings could derail it.”

 (Reuters) (MediaFile) (New York Times) (Wall Street Journal)

Keep an eye on:

• Yahoo’s largest investor met yesterday with Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer and other executives in an effort to gauge whether the software giant is willing to increase its already sweet $44.6 billion takeover offer. (New York Post )
• Yahoo’s board is expected to meet on Friday to determine fate of the company. (TechCrunch)
• Facebook.com has introduced a version of the site for Spanish-language speakers, the first of several languages beyond English the social network site plans to offer (Reuters)
• The U.S. Department of Justice has requested information from Sony BMG and Universal Music Group about their talks to launch an online music subscription service (Reuters)